Apsara dancers

I finally coughed up the $12 to see Apsara dance. That’s Cambodia’s traditional dance, and involves women dressed up as Apsaras, or heavenly beings. These are carved all over Angkor’s temples, and are quite interesting to look at, because each one is different, and they all have mysterious, beguiling smiles. The actual dance was wiped out during the Pol Pot years, but is coming back by examining the carvings to determine the movements.

The dancers wear elaborate golden gowns and headdresses, and move slowly and gracefully. It’s more of striking a series of poses, than it is dancing. Sort of like “vogue-ing.” I’m glad I saw it. Plus, the price included an all you can eat buffet, so I ate as much as possible.

Temples finished!

Disabled musicians

I spent my last day at Angkor leisurely riding my bike around. I only re-visited three temples. At one of them I just sat and read my biography of Pol Pot for awhile.

I finished off by stopping at Angkor Wat again. On this second visit it was pretty darn impressive. It would just be better if it wasn’t for all the scaffoldings and tarps. But it’s sheer size is amazing (apparently, it’s the world’s larges religious building), and the bas reliefs are amazingly detailed. You could spend hours studying them.

All told, I’m glad I’ve seen Angkor. I highly recommend it to anyone.